U.S. lender Citigroup Inc. has chosen its preferred bidders for its consumer assets in several key Asian markets amid its earlier plan to divest several of its units across APAC regions, as reported by Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter.
Bank of Ayudhya Pcl. has been picked as the leading bidder to buy Citi’s retail assets in Thailand, according to the Bloomberg report. Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter said, in coming weeks both parties would negotiate terms of deal and transaction value could be about $2 billion.
Citi has chosen United Overseas Bank Ltd. as preferred bidder in Indonesia while in Malaysia the financial giant chosen Standard Chartered Plc. as the front runner.
Union Bank of Philippines has been chosen as the preferred bidder for Philippines which could value roughly about $1 billion. which was earlier reported by Bloomberg.
Representatives for Bank of Ayudhya, Fubon, Standard Chartered and UOB didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Although sales of assets in India Taiwan may take longer to materialize, preferred bidder for Chinese assets is reported to be Taiwans’s Fubon Financial Holding Co. which could value in a range of $100 million to $200 million.
However, according to Bloomberg sources no final decisions has been reached.
According to Bloomberg a bank’s spokesperson said, “Citigroup continues to focus on securing the best outcomes for its people and clients, and its strategy refresh prioritizing wealth and institutional businesses across the region is showing strong results, bolstered by a record year for capital raising” while declining to comment on bidders.
Citi has been long considering sale of certain assets under its consumer banking units as the group focuses on units like investment banking and wealth business in countries like Hong Kong, London, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.
The bank earlier said it expects to exit 13 consumer franchises across Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa and the bank thus would realize roughly $7 billion of common equity over time.
